Systems and methods for information exchange and synchronization using DTMF over telephone communication channels

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, protocols and apparatus for information exchange and synchronization using DTMF signaling over telephone communication channels are provided. Information is packetized and converted from one format, e.g., ASCII formatted data, to another format, e.g., BCD formatted data. The information is wrapped in one or more packets by a sending apparatus, each packet including one or more headers, such as a Name and Length field that identify the information being exchanged and the amount of data included in the packet payload/value field. The data in the packets are converted from BCD to DTMF signals and are transmitted over a telephone communication line to a receiving apparatus. The receiving apparatus converts the DTMF signals back to BCD formatted data and processes the packets to obtain the information contained therein.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Serial No. 60/241,270, filed Oct. 17, 2000, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND SYNCHRONIZATION USINGDTMF OVER TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS,” the contents of which arehereby incorporated in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to information exchange, andmore particularly to information exchange using DTMF signaling overtelephone communication channels.

In real life, people exchange numbers and information all the time.Typically such information exchange is performed verbally or using paperdocuments. With the advent of computer systems and digital datacommunications technology, such information is now commonly exchangedover various computer networks such as the Internet using variousprotocols and communication applications. E-mail is perhaps the mostprevalent form of information exchange today.

Using telephone communications technology, people exchange informationusing sending apparatus and receiving apparatus, however, such exchangeis usually limited to verbal information exchange. As one example, oneindividual may provide a phone number or address information to a secondindividual using a telephone. The second individual must write down theinformation, which may not be convenient, or commit it to memory forwriting down at a later time. For example, the second user may be usinga cell phone and not have the ability to immediately write theinformation down. In the case of a programmable cell phone, the seconduser may immediately manually program a phone number into the cellphone, however this tends to disrupt the conversation with the firstuser. Additionally, other information such as address information is notgenerally the type of information for which a cell phone is designed toconveniently store.

The number system is widely used throughout the world in telephonesystems because of its simplicity and the deployed apparatus are easy touse. Dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling is a signaling schemeused in telephone systems to transmit the characters 0-9, and the * and# characters found on standard telephone keypads, and is primarily usedto “dial” telephone numbers, i.e., direct calls to an appropriatereceiving apparatus. DTMF is a technique that converts numbers (andselect characters) to a particular frequency set, which can be convertedback to the particular number. Yet, numbers are not electronicallyexchanged through the voice band even though sending and receivingapparatus are capable of receiving numbers using DTMF signaling inparallel to voice band while a voice conversation session is active.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems, methods and protocolsfor exchanging information between sending and receiving apparatus usingDTMF signaling.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for exchangingnumbers and characters between sending apparatus and receiving apparatususing generic protocols that can be expanded to various applications.

Systems, methods, protocols and apparatus for information exchange andsynchronization using DTMF signaling over telephone communicationchannels are provided. Information is packetized and converted from oneformat, e.g., ASCII formatted data, to another format, e.g., BCDformatted data. The information is wrapped in one or more packets, eachpacket including one or more headers, such as a Name and Length fieldthat identify the information being exchanged and the amount of dataincluded in the packet payload/value field. The data in the packets areconverted from BCD to DTMF signals and are transmitted over a telephonecommunication line to a receiving apparatus. The receiving apparatusconverts the DTMF signals back to BCD formatted data and processes thepackets to obtain the information contained therein.

According to one aspect of the present invention a method is providedfor communicating alphanumeric data between two communication devicesover a telephone communication channel, the alphanumeric data includinga plurality of alphanumeric characters. The method typically includesconverting the alphanumeric data to data having a first data format,wherein each converted character comprises a first plurality ofcharacters in the first data format, converting the data having thefirst data format to data having a second data format, wherein eachconverted character comprises a plurality of numbers in the second dataformat, and communicating the data in the second data format from afirst communication device to a second communication device over thetelephone communication channel using DTMF signaling

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for communicating alphanumeric data between two communicationdevices over a telephone communication channel, the alphanumeric dataincluding a plurality of alphanumeric characters. The method typicallyincludes receiving data representing the alphanumeric data, saidreceived data having a first data format, wherein each alphanumericcharacter is represented by a first plurality of characters in the firstdata format, converting the data having the first data format to BCDdecimal formatted data, wherein each alphanumeric character isrepresented by three numerical characters in the BCD format, andcommunicating the data in the BCD format from the first communicationdevice to a second communication device over the telephone communicationchannel using DTMF signaling.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, acommunication apparatus is provided for sending and receiving data overa telephone communication channel using DTMF signaling. The apparatustypically includes a telephone interface module configured to send andreceive frequency signals over a telephone communication channel, a DTMFcoding and decoding module configured to convert received DTMF signalsto data packets having a first protocol format and to convert datapackets having the first protocol format to DTMF signals, and a packetprocessing module configured to convert data received from a user inputdevice to data packets having the first protocol format and to processdata packets in the first protocol format received from the DTMF module.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a communicationsystem is provided that typically includes a configuration servercoupled to a telephone communication network, and a communication devicehaving a telephone communication interface for coupling to the telephonecommunication network, each of said communication device andconfiguration server including a DTMF coding and decoding moduleconfigured to convert received DTMF signals to data packets having afirst protocol format and to convert data packets having the firstprotocol format to DTMF signals. In operation, the communication deviceautomatically establishes a communication session with the configurationserver when the telephone interface is connected with the telephonecommunication network, wherein the configuration server sends one ormore packets of configuration information having the first protocolformat to the communication device in the form of DTMF signals, andwherein the communication device converts the received DTMF signals tosaid one or more packets of configuration information having the firstprotocol format.

According to yet a further aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for automatically configuring a communication device having atelephone communication interface for coupling to a telephonecommunication network. The method typically includes automaticallyestablishing a communication session with a configuration server overthe telephone communication network when the telephone communicationinterface is coupled to the telephone communication network, andreceiving one or more configuration packets from the configurationserver, each configuration packet including configuration information,wherein the received configuration packets are in the form of DTMFsignals. The method also typically includes converting the DTMF signalsto one or more packets having a first protocol format, and processingthe one or more configuration packets having the first protocol formatto obtain the configuration information.

Reference to the remaining portions of the specification, including thedrawings claims and Appendices, will realize other features andadvantages of the present invention. Further features and advantages ofthe present invention, as well as the structure and operation of variousembodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below withrespect to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like referencenumbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system including a sending apparatus configured tosend information in the number domain to a receive apparatus using DTMFsignaling according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary protocol format for communicating datausing DTMF signaling according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate various system configurations for which thecommunication protocols and methods of the present invention are usefulto communicate information from one user to another user;

FIG. 7 illustrates a communication apparatus in a communication networkaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a configuration process flow according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 illustrates various functional layers of the software andhardware components of a client device and a configuration serveraccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems, apparatus, methods and protocolsfor communicating information over standard telephone communicationchannels. There are typically 2 distinct domains that are used forcommunication of information: the number domain, which runs from 0 to 9,and the Alphanumeric character domain, which runs from [a-z] and [A-Z].As used herein in one embodiment, the alphanumeric character domain isintended to also include the number domain [0-9] as well as additionalspecial characters that can be converted to ASCII as defined by theASCII table from the ANSI committee. In this embodiment, if the ASCIItable is used, all characters and numbers convert to the number domain.Appendix A includes characters and numbers and associated convertedvalues in ASCII 8-bit binary (truncate the first digit for 7-bitbinary), hexadecimal, octal and BCD decimal representations. Othercharacter domains also exist and are represented by various Unicodeconversion standards. Examples of Unicode conversion standards includeconversions for kanji and arabic character sets, and any other variousglyphs, symbols, characters and alphabets in existence. Informationabout various Unicode standards can be found at www.unicode.org.Appendix B includes an example of a Unicode conversion table.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 45 including a sending apparatus 50 ₁configured to send information in the number domain to a receiveapparatus 50 ₂ using DTMF signaling according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Each of the send and receive apparatus 50 may includea conventional telephone, a cell phone, answering machine, PDA, Laptopor desktop computer system, or any other device configured to send andreceive DTMF signals. As shown, each device 50 includes a DTMF CODEC 55that processes DTMF signals as is well known. Communication channel 60typically includes a standard PSTN telephone channel, however, wirelesschannels and VoIP channels may be included. For example, where one ofthe devices 50 is a cell phone, a wireless connection to a cell phonebase tower is included in the communication channel. Preferably, each ofthe send and receive apparatus 50 includes intelligent processingcapability. As shown, for example, each apparatus 50 includes aprocessor 65 that provides overall processing and configuration controlof the information packets according to the protocols and methods of thepresent invention. A memory 70 is provided for storing data as well asconversion parameters and look-up tables in some embodiments.

One embodiment of the present invention relates to such protocols usefulfor transferring information over communication channels between asending apparatus and a receiving apparatus. Preferably telephoniccommunication channels are used to communicate the information, e.g.,from a cell phone or conventional phone to another cell phone orconventional phone, in parallel to the voice band while a voiceconversation session is active. However, it is not necessary that avoice conversation is actually occurring. Generally, any communicationchannel capable of communicating analogue frequency signals may be used.

An exemplary embodiment of a packet format for use in communicating datausing DTMF signaling is shown in FIG. 2A. As shown, a packet 10 includesa Name field 15, a Length field 20, a Value field 25 and an optional CRCfield 30. Name field 15 in one embodiment identifies the parameter/datafield the packet is holding. Name field 15 in the embodiment as shownincludes a maximum of 5 alphanumeric characters, although it may beconfigured with a maximum exceeding 5 characters or as few as 1character. If fewer than the maximum number of characters are included,the remainder is padded with spaces in one embodiment. Each alphanumericcharacter preferably comprises one byte (8 bits) in ASCII binary,although 7-bits may be used in some embodiments. Name field 15 isgenerally a generic text field that is associated with any field insidethe individual system. FIG. 2B illustrates examples of possible Namefields.

Length field 20 identifies the number of bytes of data in Value field25, and preferably includes 4 digits [0-9999] (4 ASCII bytes), althoughmore digits may be used. If there is no Value field, the Length is 0.Value field 25 includes the actual data being exchanged for theidentified parameter/field. If N characters comprise the Value of theidentified field then Value field 25 includes N bytes (ASCII). OptionalCRC field 30 is provided to protect against noisy transmission, e.g., asmay be present in cell phone networks. CRC field 30 includes a computedCRC of the Name, Length and Value fields, but excluding the CRC fielditself. Appendix D illustrates examples of other useful packet formatsand fields according to the present invention.

In one embodiment, the packet 10 is converted from the ASCII domain to aBCD digit sequence 35. In this embodiment, the Name, Length, Value andCRC protocol fields are each converted from the ASCII domain (e.g., 7 or8 bit binary for each character) to an associated 3-digit BCD decimalcode. For example, with reference to Appendix A, the letter “A” isconverted from “01000001” in binary to “065” in BCD. Such transformationis preferably executed by processor 65 using a lookup table, e.g.,stored in memory module 70, although a specialized conversion module maybe used. For example, look-up and conversion may be implemented using anFPGA or algorithmically. The transformed packet is then converted to adual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal 40 by DTMF CODEC 55 andtransmitted over the communication channel. As is well known, DTMF is asignaling scheme used in conventional phone signaling systems fortransmitting the characters 0-9 and the * and # characters found onstandard telephone keypads. Appendix C shows a standard DTMF frequencymap.

The receiving apparatus receives the DTMF signal representing packet 10.The receiving apparatus' DTMF CODEC 55 converts the DTMF signal to3-digit BCD. In one embodiment, the receiving apparatus converts thepacket back to the ASCII domain and stores the ASCII data to memory.Alternatively, the receiving apparatus stores the BCD formatted data tomemory. The raw DTMF signal may also be stored if desired. In anotherembodiment, a Unicode hexadecimal code format is used in place of theASCII format. Appendix B shows an example of a Unicode conversion table.Using this table, for example, the character/letter “A” would beconverted to “0041” in Unicode and the character/letter “m” would beconverted to “006D”.

As an example, if it is desired to send information related to anindividual named “John Doe”, excluding the CRC field, the protocolpacket for the first name “John” would be arranged in ASCII binary(8-bit) format as follows according to the present exemplary embodiment:

Field:

Name: (“First”) 01000110/01101001/01110010/01110011/01110100

Length: (“0004”) 00110000/00110000/00110000/00110100

Value: (“John”) 01001010/01101111/01101000/01101110.

When converted to 3-digit BCD format, the packet would be arranged asfollows:

Field:

Name: (“First”) 070/105/114/115/116

Length: (“0004”) 048/048/048/052

Value: (“John”) 074/111/104/110.

The DTMF signal for the first name packet, excluding CRC field, wouldthus be “070105114115116048048048052074111104110”. The backslashes (“/”)in the above example are used solely to assist the reader to delineateeach character relative to the others and are not part of the presentprotocol.

As an exemplary use for the protocol, consider the situation where oneparty to a phone conversation may desire to send a fax number, and/ordirection or address information to the recipient during a conversation.Rather than orally communicating such information, which may beburdensome if, e.g., the recipient is driving a car and must write theinformation down, the sender keys in the information (name plus otherinformation) on the telephone keypad or retrieves the information from amemory in the telephone, and presses a “send” key. The information ispacketized according to the above protocol, transformed into BCD 3-digitformatted data and sent as a DTMF signal using the above protocol overthe communication channel while the conversation session is active. Therecipient's phone receives the DTMF signal and transforms it back to theBCD 3-digit format, and possibly an ASCII format. The information can bedisplayed and/or stored in the recipient's phone for later use.

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate various system configurations for which thecommunication protocols and methods of the present invention are usefulto communicate information from one user to another user. It should beappreciated, however, that numerous other system configurations anddevices may be implemented using the teachings of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3A, two users are communicating information over thevoice band using two cell phones. The user (Bob) providing the requestedinformation accesses the requested information from a personalinformation source such as a PDA and verbally provides the informationto the requesting individual (Joe), who must then write down theinformation or commit the information to memory. As shown in FIG. 3B,according to the present invention, Bob is able to send the informationto Joe using the DTMF conversion protocols of the present invention. Bobeither keys in the desired information or locates and retrieves thedesired information in a memory of the cell phone and presses a “send”key. The cell phone processes, packetizes and converts the informationand sends out a DTMF signal that is received by a cell phone base tower.The DTMF signal is transmitted via a PSTN network to the cell phone basetower associated with Joe's cell phone and on to Joe's cell phone wherethe DTMF signal is processed to store and/or display the information.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate system configurations similar to theconfigurations of FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively. In FIG. 4B, however,the receiving party's communication device comprises an intelligenttelephone, e.g. including processing and configuration hardware andsoftware according to the present invention. The intelligent telephone,processes DTMF signals as above. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate systemconfigurations similar to the configurations of FIGS. 4A and 4B,respectively. In FIG. 5B, however, the sending party's communicationdevice also comprises an intelligent telephone, e.g. includingprocessing and configuration hardware and software according to thepresent invention. The intelligent telephone configures and processesinformation to be sent and transmits the DTMF information signals asabove.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system configuration similar to the configurationof FIG. 5B. As shown, information is sent to one or more personalinformation management (PIM) devices for retrieval by a user. Forexample, a DTMF information packet sent from one user to another usermay be sent directly to the recipient's associated PIM over theInternet, or the packet may be sent to the recipient's telephone (orother receiving device, e.g., answering machine) which is configured toforward the packet to the recipient's PIM. The recipient may access thePIM over the Internet at any time from any location using anycommunication device capable of communicating over the Internet.

The protocols of the present invention are also useful for automaticallyconfiguring communication apparatus with information. One embodiment ofa system 100 including a self-configuring communication apparatus 105and a configuration server 160 is shown in FIG. 7. The self configuringcommunication apparatus 105 shown includes both a modem 115 forcommunicating over a network, e.g., with an Internet service provider(ISP) 150, and a standard telephone hook up module 120. Apparatus 105also includes a processor 165 and a memory unit 110 for storing variousdata and configuration information. Modem module 115 may include astandard modem for communicating over a telephone network 140 withvarious end systems or it may include a DSL interface, NIC, etc., forcommunicating with various networks, e.g., the Internet 130, overvarious communication media. Telephone interface module 120 preferablyincludes a PSTN interface for communicating over telephone network 140.Apparatus 105 also preferably includes a user input device 125 directlycoupled to or integrated as part of apparatus 105. User input device 125typically includes a keypad in the case of a telephone or PDA, or akeyboard in the case of a PC or laptop. However, it should beappreciated that any user input device, such as a touchscreen,electronic pen, microphone (voice to text), etc., that allows a user toenter information may be used.

Conversion of data to the ASCII format is typically performed by theinput device interface associated with the device. When a user depressesa key, the input device interface registers the selected key and sends abinary signal representing the selected character to the processor 165.Typically a 7-bit or 8-bit binary ASCII character is sent, although theinput device interface may be configured to automatically convert theselected character to a hexadecimal format, an octal format, a BCDformat or any other format as desired. A specialized ASCII conversionmodule may be implemented to convert signals from the user input device125 to the ASCII format. It should be appreciated that some or all inputvalues may de directly converted to BCD decimal, however, most inputdevices use ASCII binary as the standard interface data format. Forexample, standard keyboards and keypads automatically convert userselection of keys into binary ASCII signals readable by a processor.

One embodiment of a self configuring apparatus 105 includes a MODEMinterface module 115 that requires an ISP phone number and otherparameters to be configured. To enable this a standard PSTN telephonehook up is used to communicate with a configuration information serverto obtain configuration information. It should be appreciated that anynumber of devices that require some form of configuration parametersetup, e.g. DSL Modems, Cable Modems, WEB appliances, etc. can all beconfigured/setup using a telephone hook up and the DTMF informationexchange methodology as described herein.

When a user sets up apparatus 105, e.g., plugs in the PSTN connectionmodule 120 to a phone jack and turns the apparatus on, the apparatuscalls up a dedicated server, e.g., server 160, over telephone network140 using any publicly available phone number, such as an “800” number.The apparatus is preferably configured to automatically call the serverwhen configuration information is needed, although a user may manuallyconfigure the apparatus to call the server when desired. The server towhich the “800” number is directed receives the phone number of thecalling party, i.e., apparatus 100, via a standard ANI (automatic numberidentification) provided to “800” number owners, and uses this phonenumber to determine the geographic location of the apparatus. Thegeographic location is used to determine a nearest point-of-presence(POP) for communicating with an ISP 150. In one embodiment, server 160performs a look-up of known POPs for a particular ISP based on the areacode prefix of the identified phone number. ISP 150 may be identified bythe apparatus or assigned by server 160. The server then automaticallytransmits the ISP POP number(s) using the DTMF signaling methods andprotocols as described above. The apparatus can store the received POPnumber(s) for later use when communicating with ISP 150 is desired. Itshould be appreciated that POP numbers for other end systems may bedetermined and communicated to apparatus 105.

FIG. 8 illustrates a configuration process flow according to anembodiment of the present invention. At step 210, a client device(“SPC”), e.g., apparatus 105, contacts a configuration informationserver (“ACD”), e.g., server 160, over a standard telephonecommunication channel using an “800” number associated with the server.At step 215, the server responds to the client device with a Hello ACDpacket using the DTMF packet/conversion protocol of the presentinvention. An example of a Hello ACD packet is shown in Appendix D. Ifthe ANI feature is available, the server automatically receives thephone number of the client and the name of the calling party, andpossibly other information. In response to the Hello ACD packet, theclient sends an EEPROM information packet including identification andISP information to the server using the DTMF packet/conversion protocolof the present invention. A client EEPROM stores client ID informationsuch as the serial number, MAC ID, product ID, hardware version, etc. Anexample of an EEPROM information packet is shown in Appendix D. Suchinformation packets include sub-fields and values associated withinformation such as the MACID, Login ID, Password, and configurationinformation available to the client.

At step 220, the server determines whether the client device has arecord in the database based on, e.g., the MAC ID. If a device recordexists, at step 225 the server determines whether there is a match forthe device in a customer table in the database, e.g., using the Mac IDand/or login ID and user password. If there is a match, the customerdatabase record is updated at step 230 with any new information includedin the received information packets. It is clear that reconfiguration isnecessary at this point because the client device was likely reset(either accidentally, purposely, e.g., due to a move, etc.). At step235, the system retrieves the local access number(s) for the identifiedISP, and the server sends the information to the client device in theform of one or more configuration information ACD packets that eachincludes one or more subfields in the Value field. Alternately, suchsub-fields may be sent as individual packets. Examples of configurationinformation ACD packet formats and possible sub-fields are shown inAppendix D.

Returning to step 220, if it is determined that there is no devicerecord in the database for the particular client device, a new devicerecord is created at step 240. At step 245, the system determineswhether there is a match for the phone number in the customer table. Ifthere is a match, a validity check is performed using the customer loginID and password at step 250. If the password and login ID are valid, anew device record is created and the customer record is updated at step255 and the system proceeds to retrieve and send the appropriateconfiguration information at step 235. If the password and login ID arenot valid, a new customer record is created at step 260. At this pointit is possible that a customer is likely using a new client device at apreviously used phone number interface. If at step 245 it is determinedthat there is no match in the customer table for the phone number, it isdetermined whether the customer needs an ISP at step 265. Similarly, ifat step 225 it is determined that there is no match in the customertable for the particular device, it is determined whether the customerneeds an ISP at step 265. If the customer needs an ISP (e.g., no ISPconfiguration information was received in the Information packets sentby the client device), an ISP, login ID and password are assigned atstep 270 and a new customer record is created at step 260. If it isdetermined that the customer has an ISP, a new record is created at step260. After step 260, the system retrieves and sends the appropriateconfiguration information as above.

FIG. 9 illustrates various functional layers of the software andhardware components of a client device and a configuration serveraccording to an embodiment of the present invention. Client 305 includesa front-end telephony interface layer 310, DTMF CODEC layer 320, ACDHandler layer 330 and Client Application layer 340. Similarlyconfiguration server 360 includes a front-end telephony interface layer350, DTMF CODEC layer 370, ACD Handler layer 380 and Server Applicationlayer 390. Telephony interface layers 310 and 350 each include theappropriate hardware, e.g., PSTN interface modules, for communicatingand receiving DTMF signals. DTMF CODEC layers 320 and 370 each includesoftware and hardware components for encoding and decoding packetsformatted according to the present invention, e.g., ACD informationpackets. For example, each CODEC layer includes the hardware andsoftware for encoding transmit packets into DTMF symbols and to decodeDTMF symbols into receive packets. ACD Handler layers 330 and 380 eachsupport the protocols of the present invention by performing validationof received packets, generating/building ACD packets for transmissionand processing received and transmit packets. Application layers 340 and390 interface with ACD handler layers 330 and 380, respectively, toprocess and configure data according to the present invention. Clientapplication layer 340 interfaces with a kernel to retrieve hardware andother client specific information, e.g., for inclusion in an EEPROMpacket and an ISP information packet. Server application layer 390interfaces with the database to store and retrieve configurationinformation of client 305.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms ofthe specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention isnot limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it isintended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements aswould be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope ofthe appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so asto encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of communicating alphanumeric databetween two communication devices over voice band in a telephonecommunication channel, the alphanumeric data including a plurality ofalphanumeric characters, the method comprising: converting thealphanumeric data to data having a first data format, wherein eachconverted character comprises a first plurality of characters in thefirst data format; converting the data having the first data format todata having a second data format, wherein each converted charactercomprises a plurality of numbers in the second data format; andcommunicating the data in the second data format from a firstcommunication device to a second communication device over the voiceband in the telephone communication channel using DTMF signaling;wherein the communicating is configured to occur over the voice bandduring an active voice conversation.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first data format is an ASCII format, wherein each character isrepresented by one of a 7-bit an 8-bit binary number.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first data format is a Unicode format, wherein eachcharacter is represented by at least four characters.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the second data format is a BCD decimal format, whereineach character is represented by three numbers.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the second data format is an octal format, wherein eachcharacter is represented by three numbers.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the first data format is a hexadecimal format, wherein eachcharacter is represented by three characters.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein each of the first and second communication devices includes oneof a conventional telephone, a cell phone and an intelligent answeringmachine.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the first and secondcommunication devices includes a communications server.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein each of the first and second communication devicesincludes a PSTN connection.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: reconverting at the second communication device the DTMFsignaling data received from the first communication device back to oneof the first data format and the second data format; and storing thereconverted data to a memory coupled to the second communication device.11. The method of claim 1, wherein converting to the first data formatis automatically performed by a keypad interface associated with thefirst communication device in response to user selection of keys on thekeypad.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein a first plurality of saidkeys represent alphanumeric characters, and wherein a second pluralityof said keys represent control information characters.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein communicating includes: converting each of saidplurality of numbers in the second data format to a frequency signalbased on a DTMF frequency map; and transmitting the frequency signalsover the telephone communication channel.
 14. A method of communicatingalphanumeric data between two communication devices over voice band in atelephone communication channel, the alphanumeric data including aplurality of alphanumeric characters, the method comprising: receivingdata representing the alphanumeric data, said received data having afirst data format, wherein each alphanumeric character is represented bya first plurality of characters in the first data format; converting thedata having the first data format to BCD decimal formatted data, whereineach alphanumeric character is represented by three numerical charactersin the BCD format; and communicating the data in the BCD format from thefirst communication device to a second communication device over thevoice band in the telephone communication channel using DTMF signaling;wherein the communicating is configured to occur over the voice bandduring an active voice conversation.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinreceiving includes receiving the data in the first format from a keypadinterface associated with the first communication device, wherein thekeypad interface automatically converts to the first data format inresponse to user selection of keys on the keypad.
 16. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the first data format is an ASCII format, wherein eachalphanumeric character is represented by one of a 7-bit and an 8-bitbinary number.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein communicating thedata in the BCD format includes: converting each of said numericalcharacters in the BCD format to a frequency signal based on a DTMFfrequency map; and transmitting the frequency signals over the telephonecommunication channel.
 18. A communication apparatus for sending andreceiving data over voice band in a telephone communication channelusing DTMF signaling, the apparatus comprising: a telephone interfacemodule configured to send and receive frequency signals over voice bandin a telephone communication channel, the sending and receiving beingconfigured to occur during an active voice conversation; a DTMF codingand decoding module configured to convert received DTMF signals to datapackets having a first protocol format and to convert data packetshaving the first protocol format to DTMF signals; and a packetprocessing module configured to convert data received from a user inputdevice to data packets having the first protocol format and to processdata packets in the first protocol format received from the DTMF module.19. The method of claim 18, wherein the data packets having the firstdata format comprise data in a BCD format, wherein each packet includesone or more header fields and a value field.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein each packet includes a checksum data field.
 21. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the one or more header fields include at least a Namefield and a Length field, said Name field identifying the data in thevalue field, and the Length field identifying the number of bytes ofdata in the value field.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein the datareceived from the user input device is formatted as ASCII formatteddata, and where in the packet processing module converts the ASCIIformatted data to BCD formatted data.
 23. The method of claim 18,wherein the packet processing module converts data packets in the firstprotocol format received from the DTMF module to data packets having asecond protocol format.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the secondprotocol format includes ASCII formatted data.
 25. The method of claim18, wherein the data received from the user input device is in one of anASCII format, a Unicode format, a hexadecimal format and an octalformat.
 26. A communication system, comprising: a configuration servercoupled to a telephone communication network; and a communication devicehaving a telephone communication interface for coupling to the telephonecommunication network, each of said communication device andconfiguration server including a DTMF coding and decoding moduleconfigured to convert received DTMF signals to data packets having afirst protocol format and to convert data packets having the firstprotocol format to DTMF signals; wherein the communication deviceautomatically establishes a communication session over a telephony voiceband channel with the configuration server when the telephone interfaceis connected with the telephone communication network, and wherein theconfiguration server is configured to send one or more packets ofconfiguration information having the first protocol format to thecommunication device in the form of DTMF signals over the voice bandduring an active voice conversation, and wherein the communicationdevice converts the received DTMF signals to said one or more packets ofconfiguration information having the first protocol format.
 27. Thecommunication system of claim 26, wherein the configuration server sendsan introductory packet to the communication device in the form of DTMFsignals after the communication session is established, and wherein thecommunication device responds to the introductory packet by sending oneor more information packets identifying known configuration parameters,and wherein the configuration server updates an database using the knownconfiguration parameters.
 28. The communication system of claim 26,wherein the first protocol format includes BCD formatted data, whereineach of the one or more packets of configuration information includesone or more header fields and a value field.
 29. The communicationsystem of claim 28, wherein each packet includes a checksum field. 30.The communication system of claim 28, wherein the value field includesconfiguration information identified by one of said header fields. 31.The communication system of claim 26, wherein the configurationinformation includes a nearest point-of-presence number for an ISP. 32.The communication system of claim 26, wherein the communication deviceincludes one of a telephone, a cell phone, an answering machine, a webappliance, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a cable modem and aDSL modem.
 33. A method of automatically configuring a communicationdevice having a telephone communication interface for coupling to atelephone communication network, comprising: automatically establishinga communication session over a telephony voice band channel with aconfiguration server over the telephone communication network when thetelephone communication interface is coupled to the telephonecommunication network, the communication session being configured tooccur during an active voice conversation; receiving one or moreconfiguration packets from the configuration server, each configurationpacket including configuration information, wherein the receivedconfiguration packets are in the form of DTMF signals; converting theDTMF signals to one or more packets having a first protocol format; andprocessing the one or more configuration packets having the firstprotocol format to obtain the configuration information.
 34. The methodof claim 33, wherein automatically establishing a communication sessionincludes automatically placing an “800” number call to the configurationserver over the telephone communication network when the telephonecommunication interface is connected to the telephone communicationnetwork.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein automatically establishinga communication session further includes receiving a first DTMF packetsignal from the configuration server, and responding to the first DTMFpacket signal by sending a second DTMF packet signal to theconfiguration server, said second DTMF packet signal including currentconfiguration information for the communication device.
 36. The methodof claim 33, wherein the first protocol format includes BCD formatteddata, wherein each of the one or more configuration packets includes oneor more header fields and a value field.
 37. The method of claim 33,wherein the configuration information includes a nearestpoint-of-presence number for an ISP.
 38. The method of claim 33, furtherincluding storing the configuration information in a memory unit.